Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on YUMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup upgraded Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.68.

Yum China Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $49.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.60. Yum China has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $52.00. The company has a market capitalization of $18.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.36.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. Yum China had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Yum China’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Yum China’s payout ratio is 28.32%.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total value of $302,716.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,948.27. The trade was a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in Yum China by 53.7% during the second quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Yum China by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Yum China by 906.5% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Yum China by 140.3% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the second quarter worth $52,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Company Profile

Yum China Holdings, Inc owns, operates, and franchises restaurants in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through KFC, Pizza Hut, and All Other segments. It operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Lavazza, Little Sheep, and Huang Ji Huang concepts. The company also operates V-Gold Mall, a mobile e-commerce platform to sell products; and offers online food deliver services.